- Barter Books
Barter Books is a second-hand bookshop located in the historic English market town of
Alnwick ,Northumberland . It has over 200,000 visitors a year, 40% of whom are from outside the area, and is one of the largest second-hand bookstores in Europe. [ [http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/viewarticle.aspx?sectionid=1117&articleid=2917844 Town map leaves tourists in the dark - Northumberland Today ] ] It is considered a local tourist attraction [ [http://www2.visitbritain.com/VB3-en/productsearch/productdetail.aspx?productID=122973&icID=2 Accommodation in Britain, hotels, hostel, campus, self-catering, apartments : VisitBritain ] ] [ [http://www.britishcouncil.org/china-aboutuk-discoveruk-england-tourism-alnwick.htm Alnwick - Tourism - England - Discover UK - About The UK - China ] ] and has been described as "theBritish Library of second-hand bookshops." [Benton, A M: [http://www.gonomad.com/features/0706/england-books.html England by the Book: A Guide to the Best Bookstores and Libraries] ]The bookshop is located within the Victorian
Alnwick railway station , designed by William Bell and opened in 1887. [ [http://railways-of-britain.com/Alnvalley.html Aln Valley Railway and Society @ railways-of-britain.com ] ] It was in use until the closure of theAlnwick branch line in 1968. [ [http://www.northumbrian-railways.co.uk/alnwick.html Alnwick Branch ] ] Barter Books was opened in 1991.The shop is notable for its use of a barter system, whereby customers can exchange their books for credit against future purchases. Standard cash purchases are also available.
Barter Books has also been subject to crime on occasions. On the 3rd May 2007, a local newspaper, the
Northumberland Gazette , reported that a book worth over £2,000 was returned to the book shop 5 years after it was stolen. [ [http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news?articleid=2849673 Happy ending for stolen rare book - Northumberland Today ] ] It has also been subject to a scam which allowed thieves to take £200 in cash. However, the crime was dealt with in court. [ [http://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/news?articleid=2917831 Cash scam warning to traders - Northumberland Today ] ]See also
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Alnwick branch line External links
* [http://www.barterbooks.co.uk The Barter Books website]
* [http://www.barterbooks.co.uk/bb/barterstaticpages.nsf/web/staticpages/shop Shop history and general information]
* [http://www.avrs.co.uk The Aln Valley Railway Society]
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/main.jhtml?xml=/travel/2003/11/04/etbookx.xml&sSheet=/travel/2003/11/05/ixtrvhome.html Daily Telegraph article about the shop]References
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